“Despite a lot of heated rhetoric, our efforts over the past two years to modernize our regulations have led to smarter—and in some cases tougher—rules to protect our health, safety and environment. Yet according to current estimates of their economic impact, the benefits of these regulations exceed their costs by billions of dollars.”

Last week the Oil Spill Commission released a devastating report on the BP oil disaster, which concluded that systemic failures throughout the oil industry mean that a similar catastrophe "might well recur." But with the one year anniversary of the BP oil disaster approaching in April, Gulf Coast communities are still waiting for action from Congress.

Currently, obscure Senate rules allow individual Senators to hold the nation's work hostage while cutting backroom deals with corporate polluters. But we have an opportunity to change this when the legislative branch convenes this week.

In an historic move, last week the Environmental Protection Agency vetoed a proposed mountaintop removal mine in West Virginia. The massive mine was one of the largest ever proposed and would have destroyed more than seven miles of vital streams and more than 2,000 mountain acres in Appalachia. The veto is the culmination of a long effort to stop the mine that began with the first lawsuit ever brought by citizens to stop a mountaintop removal coal mine.

4) Wilderness: Celebrating 10 Years!

Let’s all take a moment to celebrate the 10th anniversary of one of the hardest fought land protection efforts in our nation's history -the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Thanks to this rule, millions of acres of national forest have been protected from energy development, road building and other threats. These areas have become havens for animals and people alike, as well as economic drivers employing over 200,000 people. Now, in the face of a changing climate, our roadless areas become even more important. Learn more here.